When the Work is the Program
Young adulthood is marked by the furious development of the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for higher order thinking and feeling—including lofty existential concepts such as personal meaning.
For many, this sudden hunger for meaning only highlights its absence. It is not unusual for young people, especially the most sensitive and perceptive among them, to experience this existential appetite as a painful unsatisfied hunger. As lostness. As boredom. As anxiety. As loneliness or, even, depression. It’s what the French existentialists called “ennui”, and the psychologist Viktor Frankl called “man’s search for meaning.”
But the good news is that our hunger for meaning, like any natural appetite, is designed to be satisfied. Japanese philosophers had to wisdom to name not just the appetite itself, but its fulfillment. They call it “ikigai,” which roughly translates to “your reason for getting out of bed in the morning.”
In Japan, there is a strong culture of experiential learning (learning the job by doing the job) in the company of peers and under the caring tutelage of a master. Even after completing college, Japanese bankers, marketers, engineers and other professionals must start all over as apprentices, or “freshmen,” when they begin their career.
While this apprenticeship approach to career and independence is well developed and pervasive in Japan, it exists in many other cultures too, including corners of our own. In the U.S. this is particularly true of the trades, where carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and chefs master their work by doing that work, ideally in the presence of supportive peers and under the direction of skilled mentors.
The Trade is designed around the ancient but ever-more relevant idea that doing real work in supportive community with skilled mentorship is the best way for anyone to find their place and their purpose. Doing work that matters—ideally in and for a community—satisfies the need for meaning because it is meaningful.
The work our apprentices do every day at the Trade is work that has to be done. It is important work. It may include caring for animals, repairing a pipe, teaching a special-needs youth to paddle a canoe, building a cabin, or designing a mountain biking trail. Whatever it is, it needs to be done to keep this mountain working: for us, for our guests, and for the larger community. It is work that matters. It is this meaningful work that creates a context for connection, for competence, for independence and, ultimately, for the meaning we all crave.
So that is what we mean at the Trade when we say that “the work is the program.” Work is the context in which most of adult life is lived. It is the place we find our people, our way, and our purpose. Work matters. And when we do that work together, it makes us matter too.
Here’s how The Trade applies modern research to ancient apprenticeship practices:
Multiple intelligences theory: honoring diverse forms of brilliance. We’re creating a place where every young adult can find their own brilliance—kinesthetic, or verbal, or quantitative, or existential. All these talents are equally important because they constitute the ingredients necessary to do life together.
Emotional intelligence theory: emotional and social skills are critical in overall well-being and success—necessary to do well in the world. Work creates a perfect environment for social-emotional growth, especially when it is collaborative and in-person.
Self-determination theory: Everyone has a few core needs which, if effectively met, are what give us a reason to get out of bed every day. As our apprentices learn to connect, they gain workaday competence and develop autonomy.
Flow state theory: when you are in a state of flow, you experience deep immersion, focus, and intrinsic motivation. At The Trade, many hands make light work, and in community, hard work can become joyful and life-giving.
To learn more about The Trade visit: https://www.tradeforlife.org/.